


Misread

by lycchi



Category: Butterfly Soup (Visual Novel)
Genre: "attempted" being the keyword : (, Attempted Flirting, F/F, Gen, Introspection, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-01 07:16:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17239832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lycchi/pseuds/lycchi
Summary: Growing pains.





	Misread

**Author's Note:**

> Brianna Lei is unlikely to ever see this but thank you for making Butterfly Soup; I'm looking forward to your future work!
> 
> Most of this was written more than a year ago. I have too many obligations but it'd be great to have time to write about the other two protagonists as well as the team in depth one day. Pro-tip: if you ever need to look up science pickup lines for your writing, be prepared to find more trash than gold. The bad kind, with "gold" being equivalent to the melted gold chocolate coins you found in the pocket of some jeans that you haven't worn in 8 months.
> 
> Title inspired by the Fazerdaze song. Happy New Year! Have a good 20bi-teen.
> 
> Edit: changed some wording and added additional text for clarity

The grass was not the most choice place to rest, but Noelle was too exhausted to make her way over to the benches. She had practically collapsed after less than ten minutes of jogging, an improvement from her initial (redacted) record.

It had been a few months since they formed The Semes - a name that brings to mind images of men with questionably large hands and chins as angular as a Dorito (per Diya's words). The more you know. The team was dysfunctional to say the least and the exercise part of it still hadn't grown on Noelle--at least not to the extent that Chryssa and Liz had hoped--but it had its benefits. For one, going to practice was better than having to spend after-school hours with her parents breathing down her neck --"failure is for losers; Noelle, you aren't a loser, are you?" While Noelle hadn't lost her competitive drive, it was relieving to learn an activity without having to be fearful of the (inordinate) consequences of failure. It was something she was learning to enjoy on her own terms.

Being the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she felt an obligation to her parents. From a young age, Noelle had helped translate for her parents--going back and forth between Mandarin and English. Language - be it spoken, written, Mathematics - was something to hone. It was not only for her academic success that she sought to perfect her spelling, syntax and enunciation, but also to appease her parents. Their idea of a fulfilling life meant recognition by those who matter and to become someone who matters. If her parents taught her anything, it was that life was as unforgiving as they are. Opportunities were fleeting and potential competition only continued to increase. Within the span of minutes, Noelle often found herself going between absolute certainty in her anger towards her parents and what they represent to doubting the rationality of her desire for something other than what was 'right.' Emotions were unideal to say the least; one misstep and she'd let the world know how vulnerable she was and if she was going to be successful, Noelle wasn't going to let that happen. …If she had a choice.

But before she knew it, she was faced with the gap between "logic" and "emotions," a road block that demanded her constant scrutiny, but continued to only offer more questions in return. Noelle knew that she enjoyed spending more time with Diya. Despite 'bad beginnings'--from accusations of being a robot to having her life threatened--Akarsha and Min's company had also grown on her. Chryssa and Liz were supportive and continued to look out for the younger members of the team even as their graduation was approaching. She still didn't really know how to interact with "Sakura" and "Yuki," but over time it was easier to decipher what they were saying and enjoyment of their presence outweighed distaste. On the other hand, despite not chatting often, she felt that she and Ester were mostly on the same wavelength at least. Noelle was sure that neither Chryssa nor Liz got what they were bargaining for when they set out to form a baseball team, but slowly but surely they were shaping up to be a legitimate team, or as legitimate as an unbalanced team consisting of "weebs, nerds and jocks" could be…. As she spent more time with the team it felt as if things could be different--shattering her expectations and preconceptions about social relationships in a way that felt uncomfortable and almost embarrassing at times. Things were _different_ , to the point where it often felt like she was treading unknown territory.

...And she was, literally.  

Noelle sighed, lowering her cap to better protect her eyes from the sun's rays. It only became clearer that nothing, not even studying, proves to be an effective means of avoidance for long… What was she supposed to do with the accumulation of emotions that she has spent years learning to suppress? It was almost anxiety-inducing to admit to enjoying the company of her teammates and friends while continually being denied her own interests and being told she wasn't who she should be.

Mind muddled, Noelle began to pluck out bits of grass that got caught in her braid. Alongside the faint and distant sounds of buzzing insects, she could still hear the sound of trainers moving against gravel. Chryssa and Diya were the only ones still jogging; this meant approximately fifteen more minutes of whatever single-word descriptor most appropriately fits 'the existential dread of feeling the crushing weight of the universe' or, in other words, being alone with your own thoughts and feelings. 

 

* * *

 

...Except something was amiss.

"Wait a minute, those buzzing noises… They're too loud to be insects." 

It wasn't that the sound was getting louder - it was coming closer. Increasingly within earshot was an extremely horrendous cover of the X-files theme. On kazoo. Noelle groaned, reaching to cover her ears with her hands. She really should have seen this coming.

"EARTH TO FRENCHMAN. EARTH TO FRENCHMAN. Your home planet called and they want you back. EARTH TO-"

"FRANCE IS A COUNTRY, NOT A PLANET. Akarsha, you're standing right above me, you don't have to yell," Noelle responded exasperatedly.

"...Y'know, for someone who practically passed out after like two minutes on the track you sure have a lot of energy. …And what made you think I was talking about France?" Akarsha quipped back playfully.

"That is wholly exaggerated. You know… sometimes, you're too much,"

"Ayyyy, the more me, the merrier, right? Could it be, the doppelganger effect?!"

Noelle had opened her mouth to retort but was beaten to the chase. 

"Shhhh… I'm being rhetorical," Akarsha lowered her hand towards her. Noelle furrowed her brows, all while hoping that her cap was at a low enough angle to hide the smile that was beginning to form across her lips.

Despite the absurdity of much of Akarsha's actions, Noelle wasn't certain of what to make of her and how to best respond to her self-deprecating jokes, even moreso after overhearing her in the gymnasium when they had to search for Min and Diya. The way her voice could fill a room and her laughter that often only made excuse upon excuse clearer, she kind of enjoyed that part of her. 

"Uh, your hands are kind of clammy… You alright?" Noelle questioned after reaching up to return the gesture.

"What are you saying Frenchman? ......Are you falsely accusing me to hide the fact that it is you who has the clammy hands? Or maybe it was your alien powers have infected me...with your love?!" Akarsha let out an exaggerated gasp.

"Nothing that comes out of your mouth will ever surprise me. If anything, I'm surprised that you didn't drop me mid-way---"

Well shit.

"Thanks for the reminder," Akarsha laughed.

"UGHHH....." Noelle sighed. 

For a moment Noelle had thought she felt Akarsha's eyes looming over but she couldn't be entirely sure it happened at all.

Most of their interactions were arguments without an end in sight; if anything, their entire friendship was an oxymoron. But, despite the absurdity, their continued, unchanging daily antics have come to feel 'unnecessarily necessary.' Whatever that means.

 

* * *

 

Jokes were a diversion for Akarsha. She couldn't feign ignorance, but it sure as hell didn't mean she wasn't going to try. It wasn't out of ingenuity…. Or at least it wasn't supposed to be, not exactly.

But really, was it contradictory to constantly force yourself into the spotlight, while hoping that nobody grows interested or cares enough to delve deeper? It felt almost kind of miserable to be elevated in the eyes of her peers--"smart but she doesn't look it"--when she was cheating on tests. She stopped, in part thanks to Min accidentally witnessing her near-breakdown and subsequently providing her with moral support, albeit in the most Min-way possible. It wasn't that Akarsha's grades were particularly low without the 'extra boost,' but they were definitely not "up to par" and the possibility of failure was always looming.

The summer before the start of their freshman year, Akarsha was introduced to Diya after their parents met at a community event and discovered that they lived in the same neighbourhood. Their first meeting didn't give her much to go on; Diya spent most of it playing dead, while Akarsha took the opportunity to admire the taller girl's appearance, but nothing felt more uncomfortable than your parents nitpicking at your lack of aspirations AND picking your friends. Several 'Akarsha questions' later (and there were many as their parents made them walk to school together), things were less awkward.  

Come September, Akarsha met Noelle. Was it a bad idea to accuse someone you just met--your friend's best friend--of being a robot and proceed to stick a magnet to her forehead? ...Probably. In many ways--at least upon first glance--Noelle was her antithesis and someone who wasn't going to stick around for long, making it tempting to see how much she could rile her up before it really was "too much." But it was clear to pretty much everyone that Noelle cared more about her friends than she wanted to admit. She appreciated that Noelle had a response to every antic, despite Akarsha feeling and acting like a complete goblin most of the time. Noelle took her antics both seriously, but also not. It was a first that someone was willing to 'stoop to her level' with completely planned out ways of getting back at her. It was pretty ingenious to sew a library book tag to the inside of someone's backpack... despite it also being a complete pain in the ass to remove. She liked being able to catch a glimpse at the occasional smile, whether it was devious or (poorly) hidden, not just because Akarsha wanted to look at Noelle, but it also just felt like a sign that things were normal. Jokes weren't going to get rid of underlying problems but the illusion of manageability was enough for now, because what more could she ask for really?

...It's no wonder why Diya, who is essentially 'Min-sexual,' never noticed any of Akarsha's flirting and it's just about as unlikely that Noelle--someone who up until recently assumed that being straight was the default--would register any of her so-called attempts. Though, it sucked that there wasn't a way to stop being a gross, sweaty bi disaster around the person you're into.

    

* * *

 

When Diya and Chryssa finished running, practice was officially over for the day. They were all supposed to regroup in the changing room to talk about an upcoming game, but Chryssa caught Min sharpening another knife with a rock in a manner that would probably be considered an insult to every blacksmith to have ever existed. Except it was definitely something that someone would do, if that 'someone' was the same person who thought they were being asked if they would _pay_ one million dollars for the opportunity to kiss a girl.... not that the money was going to be an issue with Diya and Min now dating. There must be a box somewhere filled with confiscated knives, enough knives to become a school legend.

Akarsha scanned the room. Ester was (pretending to be) busy on her phone, seated within earshot of "Sakura" and "Yuki" who were betting on how long the HunterxHunter hiatus would last and when the next hiatus would begin. Liz was in the gym finishing an equipment check; it turns out that baseballs often end up misplaced among larger sports equipment and sadly, baseball but with basketballs was not an option. Meanwhile, Diya was still waiting for Min to finish her 'chat' with Chryssa. And out of the corner of her eye, she saw Noelle was sitting off to the side, carefully reading a chemistry textbook that looked to be one year ahead. ...That meant.......... it was time...

"Hey Frenchman, do you have 11 protons? Because you are sodium fine."

 "That is entirely impossible on a molecular level." **  
**

"...............And by that, I mean you're pretty salty."

"AKARSHA."

**Author's Note:**

> "Sakura" wins the bet, accurately predicting the exact number of issues HunterxHunter misses for the next decade, post-2008. "Yuki" is off by a mere 3 issues. The sheer accuracy of their predictions will remain a mystery forever.


End file.
